Seven Defendants, Heroin and Cocaine Trafficking, New York 2021

Seven defendants were arrested for distributing heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base near an elementary school and in public housing in Brooklyn, New York.

The indictments were unsealed yesterday in federal court in Brooklyn, charging Jessie Smith, Kendall Johnson, also known as “Duke,” Tyrell Spellman, also known as “Rude Boy,” Saquan Warlick, also known as “SB,” Ruben Pabon, Byron Elder, also known as “Bezo,” and Adrian Mattei, also known as “Spanish D,” with narcotics trafficking in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn.

The defendants were arrested yesterday and arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom. Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the indictments.

According to the indictments and court documents, between July 2018 and June 2019, Smith and his co-conspirators distributed heroin, fentanyl, and crack. In August 2018, Adrian Mattei allegedly distributed heroin within 1,000 feet of Public School 257, an elementary school on Cook Street in Brooklyn. Smith is charged with distributing and possessing over 1,000 grams of heroin.

If convicted, the maximum sentences range from 40 years’ to life imprisonment.

The charges in the indictments are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Nadia E. Moore and Nicholas J. Moscow are in charge of the prosecution.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/seven-defendants-arrested-distributing-heroin-fentanyl-and-cocaine-base-near-elementary